Amador County – City Auditor Ralph Murcello reported good news and bad news Monday on the Sutter Creek’08-’09 city audit of financial statements. He said revenues were $863,000 above the city budget, but expenditures were $820,000 over budget. Sutter Creek, like many cities in California, was in bad financial shape. Murcello said finance problems led to being “faced with refunding of an entire grant award,” and it was “amazing” that the city “doesn’t have any long-term debt.” He said some irregularities or overrides of spending controls occurred. One was an apparent loan of “$200,000 to a developer in the form of a non-interest-bearing loan,” done without paperwork, but only using a “verbal agreement.” Another irregularity was the city manager and a private company entering into an agreement for an expansion of the wastewater treatment plant, done without competitive bidding. Mayor Gary Wooten said the $200,000 was not a loan but was spent to exercise and keep alive an option on a land purchase agreement, involving the Nobel Ranch. City Manager Rob Duke said “it would be acceptable to the IRS” for the city to buy the ranch, to be used as a spray field. He said IRS requires that for the city “to buy land, there has to be a public purpose.” He said in the 11th hour of the purchase agreement, Gold Rush Corporation came in and said they would purchase the land from the city for $3.15 million. Duke said “there was no loan.” He said “we weren’t in a contract with Gold Rush,” and the city bought the land to build a golf course and spray field for disposal of treated wastewater from the city’s treatment plant. City Treasurer Cathy Castillo said there “was circumvention of internal controls,” and it “doesn’t matter if it was deemed an emergency.” Wooten said the actions were “management overrides of internal controls,” and “it was necessary to get the deal closed.” Murphy said the $200,000 “is an accumulated total paid to extend the escrow” for the Nobel Ranch land purchase for city spray fields (now part of the Gold Rush project’s golf course spray fields). He said: “It sounds like we dropped the ball on this but we didn’t,” because “all 5 of us on the council were aware of this.” This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. -
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Amador County – City Auditor Ralph Murcello reported good news and bad news Monday on the Sutter Creek’08-’09 city audit of financial statements. He said revenues were $863,000 above the city budget, but expenditures were $820,000 over budget. Sutter Creek, like many cities in California, was in bad financial shape. Murcello said finance problems led to being “faced with refunding of an entire grant award,” and it was “amazing” that the city “doesn’t have any long-term debt.” He said some irregularities or overrides of spending controls occurred. One was an apparent loan of “$200,000 to a developer in the form of a non-interest-bearing loan,” done without paperwork, but only using a “verbal agreement.” Another irregularity was the city manager and a private company entering into an agreement for an expansion of the wastewater treatment plant, done without competitive bidding. Mayor Gary Wooten said the $200,000 was not a loan but was spent to exercise and keep alive an option on a land purchase agreement, involving the Nobel Ranch. City Manager Rob Duke said “it would be acceptable to the IRS” for the city to buy the ranch, to be used as a spray field. He said IRS requires that for the city “to buy land, there has to be a public purpose.” He said in the 11th hour of the purchase agreement, Gold Rush Corporation came in and said they would purchase the land from the city for $3.15 million. Duke said “there was no loan.” He said “we weren’t in a contract with Gold Rush,” and the city bought the land to build a golf course and spray field for disposal of treated wastewater from the city’s treatment plant. City Treasurer Cathy Castillo said there “was circumvention of internal controls,” and it “doesn’t matter if it was deemed an emergency.” Wooten said the actions were “management overrides of internal controls,” and “it was necessary to get the deal closed.” Murphy said the $200,000 “is an accumulated total paid to extend the escrow” for the Nobel Ranch land purchase for city spray fields (now part of the Gold Rush project’s golf course spray fields). He said: “It sounds like we dropped the ball on this but we didn’t,” because “all 5 of us on the council were aware of this.” This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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